Property spoliation is the taking of someone else’s real estate by fraudulent means: a forged power of attorney, a fictitious sale, invented heirs, or an entry on the land title based on a worthless document. Since 2000, Leghlimi Law Firm in Casablanca has defended owners who discover that their property has been sold, mortgaged or registered in the name of a stranger. The firm handles the criminal complaint, the civil action and the Land Registry proceedings until ownership is restored.
How property spoliation happens in Morocco
The scenarios the firm sees repeat themselves, with only the details changing:
- The forged power of attorney: a mandate is drawn up in the owner’s name, often someone living abroad, elderly or deceased, and used to sell the property to an accomplice who resells it to a third party presented as a good-faith buyer.
- The fictitious sale: a private, adoulaire or notarial deed bears a signature attributed to the owner and ends up registered at the Land Registry.
- Fake heirs: a certificate of inheritance leaves out the real heirs or adds strangers, and a share that does not exist is then sold.
- Absence exploited: the property of Moroccans living abroad, unsettled estates and the assets of people who have lost legal capacity are the first targets of organised networks.
- Physical occupation: the property is occupied, built on or let to others on the strength of doubtful titles.
What they have in common is the exploitation of the land registration system itself: once a right is entered on the title, it is the true owner who has to prove that the entry is void.
What to do first
- Request a certificate of ownership from the competent Land Registry (Conservation foncière). It shows what has been entered on your title, when and in whose name.
- Keep everything that proves your ownership and possession: copy of the land title, purchase deeds, water and electricity bills, residence certificates, photographs.
- Do not negotiate with the spoliator and do not sign any document he proposes; the aim is often to regularise the forgery after the fact.
- Apply for a protective registration (prénotation) as soon as possible to block any further transfer.
- File a criminal complaint for forgery and use of forged documents with the Prosecutor General, joining the proceedings as a civil party, and bring the action for restitution.
What Moroccan law says
Spoliation litigation rests on three legal pillars the firm works with every day:
Land registration and the effect of entry
Under the Dahir of 12 August 1913 on land registration, as amended and supplemented by Law No. 14-07, real rights over registered property exist against third parties only through their entry on the land title. (Articles 66 and 67) This is what makes forgery so dangerous: the forger is after the entry, not the deed itself. But an entry based on a void or forged deed does not cure the nullity, and the true owner may ask the court to have it struck out.
The form of deeds transferring ownership
Law No. 39-08 enacting the Code of Real Rights requires that deeds transferring real-estate ownership or creating real rights be drawn up as authentic instruments or as instruments with a certain date drafted by a lawyer admitted to practise before the Court of Cassation. (Article 4) A private deed that does not meet this requirement cannot support a valid entry.
Protective registration
The land registration Dahir allows a protective registration, the provisional preservation of a real right, either on an order of the president of the court or on the basis of a claim filed with the court. (Articles 85 and 86) It is the first weapon of the wronged owner: it informs anyone dealing with the property that a dispute exists and strips them of any claim to good faith.
The criminal side
The Moroccan Penal Code punishes forgery of public, authentic and private documents and the use of forged documents (Articles 351 to 367), fraud (Article 540) and breach of trust (Article 547). The State has paid particular attention to this phenomenon since the Royal Letter addressed to the Minister of Justice in December 2016 on the spoliation of other people’s property, followed by stricter notarial and registration procedures.
Fraud vitiates everything
The case law of the Court of Cassation is settled: an entry obtained by fraud does not protect its beneficiary, and the good faith of a third-party buyer is a question of fact to be proved, not an irrebuttable presumption that can be raised against the true owner. Actions to recover property that has passed through several successive sales are built on this rule.
How the firm handles a spoliation case
- Diagnosis of the land position: reading the title and the history of entries, obtaining copies of the deeds and powers of attorney used for each entry.
- Freezing the property: protective registration and, where necessary, urgent interim measures.
- Criminal action: complaint for forgery, use of forged documents and fraud with civil-party claim, and a request for handwriting expertise on signatures and documents.
- Civil action: nullity of the deeds, cancellation of the entries and restitution of ownership against everyone in whose name the property was registered, with damages.
- Enforcement: follow-up of the actual cancellation at the Land Registry and eviction of occupants where necessary.
The firm appears before the courts of first instance, the courts of appeal and the Court of Cassation, and deals with the Land Registry and the National Agency for Land Registration, Cadastre and Cartography.
Who turns to the firm
- Moroccans living abroad who discover that their property was sold during their absence.
- Heirs left out of a certificate of inheritance or whose estate was sold without their knowledge.
- Owners served with notice to leave a property that belongs to them.
- Buyers who discover after purchase that the seller was not the owner.
- Companies and investors who find suspicious entries on the land of their projects.
Prevention before litigation
The firm advises every owner of registered property, especially those living abroad, to request a certificate of ownership at least once a year, to subscribe to the Land Registry’s alert service which flags any application for entry on their title, and never to leave an open-ended general power of attorney in anyone’s hands. When in doubt about a document or an entry, consult a lawyer before signing anything.
Frequently asked questions
My property was sold with a power of attorney I never signed. What should I do first?
Request a certificate of ownership from the Land Registry immediately to see what has been entered on your title, then apply for a protective registration (prénotation) to freeze the position and file a criminal complaint for forgery. Speed is decisive: every day can be used to resell the property to a new buyer who will claim good faith.
Can a property be recovered once it has been resold to a third party?
Yes, in many cases. Moroccan case law holds that an entry based on a forged deed is void and that fraud vitiates everything. The decisive question is the genuine good faith of the third-party buyer and the validity of his own deed, which the court assesses on the facts of each case.
How long does it take to recover a spoliated property?
It depends on the complexity of the file and the number of successive sales. The criminal side can take a year or more because of handwriting expertise; the civil side follows or runs in parallel. The protective registration shields the property throughout.
I live abroad. Can I pursue the case without travelling to Morocco?
Yes. A power of attorney for the lawyer, legalised at a Moroccan consulate, is enough. The firm handles every step, keeps you informed at each stage and works in Arabic, French and English.
Are the forger, the witnesses and a complicit notary punished?
Forgery of an authentic instrument and the use of a forged document are serious offences under Moroccan law. Anyone who took part in or knowingly benefited from them is liable. The civil action also allows compensation to be claimed from each of those involved.
This article is general information, not legal advice. Every matter has its own facts and calls for its own assessment.
